


Newlywed Illusion

by ThisIsLitaE



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Barisi - Freeform, Bittersweet, Drama & Romance, F/M, List Fic, M/M, Marriage Barisi Bingo, Married Life, Not What It Looks Like, Rules, Secrets, Temptation, newlyweds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:55:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24212476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisIsLitaE/pseuds/ThisIsLitaE
Summary: To the outside world, Dominick appears to follow the 10 tips of being a perfect newlywed.How long before secrets are revealed that prove the contrary?
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29
Collections: Marriage Barisi Bingo





	Newlywed Illusion

When Dominick Carisi made his marriage vows before God, as far as he was concerned it was for keeps. While he didn’t expect such hurdles to hit him two months in, he was prepared to do the work. Marriage was something he’d been searching for his entire life and, as his former boss had once told him, he was not a quitter. Always a researcher, Dominick made sure to learn the rules on how to be the perfect newlywed.

  1. **Get to know each other**



This was an easy one as they had worked together for years before, finally, getting together. It seemed impossible for them to keep secrets from each other. Deep conversations had been shared over drinks and prolonged eye contact. While many of their interests overlapped they were able to get away and have separate lives. They knew what made each other happy and what made each other tick. It comforted Dominick to have someone he could always count on to make him feel better.

  1. **Make memories together**



This one they had covered as well. Many important memories of Dominick’s life, at least those of the past decade, had been shared with his spouse. There was his move to the SVU precinct and development as a detective. Then, when he passed the bar and finally made a switch to practice law. Throughout all this there were many pleasant moments, and a few not so much, between the two before friendship blossomed into courtship.

Their wedding day had become the most important memory of all. Dominick had been searching for someone with whom to share his life for too long and now he’d found someone willing to put up with him. Vows were sealed with a kiss, letting the world know of a shared love years in the making. A picture of that particular memory sat in their apartment for all to see.

  1. **Set some long term goals**



The long term goal was, of course, keeping the marriage until death do them part. They weren’t exactly the regular twenty-something newlyweds who were still trying to navigate their lives. Both of them were sliding into their forties, settled in their career choices and making the effort with their new family unit. The work/life balance could sometimes be thrown out of sync with late hours and unexpected cases. The goal was to always work on making sure that didn’t come between them. To the untrained eye it was hard to believe anything could come between them.

  1. **Plan for emergencies**



Dominick had been a cop for many years and therefore had learn to expect the unexpected. Naturally, Amanda had the exact same instincts. They had their respective wills drawn up and back up funds stashed away for a rainy day. All the emergency numbers and information was pinned to the fridge, mainly for the sitter.

Nevertheless, there was always room to be blindsided. Dominick could not have planned for Rafael Barba to unexpectedly come back to New York. He didn’t expect this tidbit to be revealed by the older man showing up at Amanda’s birthday and cornering him in a bar bathroom. Dominick had not prepared that one nostalgic kiss, accompanied by an irresistible proposition, would wreck the marriage foundation on which he’d worked so hard.

  1. **Have some adventures while you can**



Dominick swore that it would just be a one-time thing. Well, two-time thing if you count the night almost three years prior. All he had to do was get some closure with the one that got away. Once the thrill of forbidden fruit was out of his system, he could get back to his life with Amanda and everything would be normal again.

But Rafael would not allow their indiscretion to be a quick fuck. Despite all Dominick’s efforts for it to be fast and furious, Rafael had been passionate yet tender. He had surrendered to looking deep into those green eyes, feeling the buzz of Rafael’s kisses all over his body, moaning in ecstasy as the two of them had become one. Every time their bodies moved together, Dominick craved another thrust, another kiss.

In order to experience the adventure again, all Dominick had to do was meet Rafael at the Fairfield Hotel at the agreed upon time.

  1. **Start a date night habit**



Dominick swore he wouldn’t come back after the second time. Temptation won the battle every time he’d tried to stay away. Not only had his adventures with Rafael continued, they had increased to twice a week. Sometimes he’d arrive at the hotel right after lunch, other times in the evening after a long day in court. No matter what, he always came back to Rafael.

There was a casual mention of moving things to Rafael’s apartment, to save on hotel room costs. Dominick refused outright. If they moved things to Rafael’s home it would make everything between them more real. There was something comforting about keeping their secret locked away in the Fairfield Hotel. It somehow made it easier to continue playing the role of perfect newlywed to the outside world.

So the two men continued as they were, screwing with emotion they pretended wasn’t there. Most of the time there was room service. Sometimes they would cuddle, watch a movie or talk for a while. Every time Dominick would pretend that he wasn’t falling in love with someone that wasn’t his wife.

  1. **Sort out your budget**



Dominick and Rafael had their system in place. In order to prevent the risk of Amanda finding hotel charges, Rafael would put the room on his card. Dominick would withdraw a bunch of cash to take care of any extra charges on their bill on check out. He had tried to offer cash for his share of the room, only for Rafael to bluntly state that he wasn’t some kind of escort.

On the home front, he’d always had a separate personal bank account along with a joint one with Amanda. As the months passed Dominick had been slacking off in transferring funds into the joint savings account, which had pushed back the plans to take Jessie and Billie to Disneyland. Instead the money remained in his own account, saving for a weekend where he could get away with Rafael – his treat.

  1. **Divide up the chores**



Dominick always took care of the laundry and dry cleaning at home. He couldn’t risk Amanda smelling sex on his clothes. Plus washing Jessie and Billie’s hamper reminded him of the reasons he couldn’t just leave Amanda. His actions effected the children’s lives as well. With each cycle, the guilt rose and punished him for his actions. Yet, at this point, it was impossible to stop seeing Rafael.

He always did the cooking in the house. Cooking was easy, as the Carisi family recipes had clear and easy rules to follow. If he deviated from recipes, lives weren’t going to be destroyed as a result. Making meals for his family was the least he could do to redeem himself for breaking the rules of marriage. 

Dominick wasn’t sure what was worse, being trapped in the laundry alone with guilt or surrounded by smiling faces at the dinner table that were oblivious to his secret. Maybe it was the constant wishing he was making dinner for Rafael instead.

  1. **Practice healthy communication**



“You’re sleeping with Barba, aren’t you?”

The question was finally out in the open after six months of hiding. Dominick didn’t know why he was surprised, given Amanda was a trained detective. Somewhere along the line, his stealth had become sloppy. He bit his lip and let the façade of being the perfect newlywed husband finally drop.

“Fuck you, Dominick.”

He tried to apologise but, naturally, Amanda didn’t want to hear it. Even with the truth in the open, some things were still best left unsaid. Dominick wasn’t sure he really was sorry for the secret finally being revealed, given the weight off his shoulders. He was relieved when Amanda left the room to check on the kids. Although he was sure that, once the children were out of earshot, a screaming match was inevitable.

  1. **Celebrate the everyday**



Dominick couldn’t believe that he was officially divorced. He had always figured if he ever signed those papers it would be a failure on his part. Amanda had been hurt by his actions but managed to be civil throughout the process. Dominick considered this to be a small victory, given that Amanda probably wanted to turn her gun on him.

After signing the papers and leaving the office, Dominick found Rafael waiting outside for him. He didn’t say anything, just wandered into the comforting arms that awaited him. Dominick savoured the embrace with the man he loved for as long as possible. It seemed unfathomable that so many wrongs had led to this right moment.

“How are you feeling?”

Dominick looked into a pair of concerned green eyes, feeling much better than he thought. He responded to his lover’s question with a warm kiss, knowing that from this moment forward he was free to be with Rafael.

**Author's Note:**

> * An attempt at another misdirect fic and a list fic  
> * This list was taken from an article on marriage.com on 10 tips for Newlyweds  
> * Marriage Barisi Bingo prompt NEWLYWEDS - COMPLETE!


End file.
